Modern aircraft rely on a wide range of navigational equipment to assist pilots in plotting and maintaining aircraft course. Many modern aircraft include with the navigation equipment flight management systems that automate navigation and aircraft control. These flight management systems assist pilots in following planned flight plans by providing direction and control to a series of course segments that make up the flight plan. In some cases, flight management systems pass flight plan information to the auto pilot system to facilitate flight control of the aircraft.
One issue flight management systems must address is the selection of flight plan segments. Flight management systems must be able to select the next segment in the flight plan and provide navigation directions that enable the pilot to control to and successfully enter the next segment.
This task is particularly problematic when the aircraft is required to enter into holding patterns. Holding patterns are designed to hold the aircraft in a designated area. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines several holding patterns that are commonly used in commercial aircraft. Recently, the RTCA has promulgated new performance standards for these holding patterns. These new performance standards require complex entry procedures that minimize the time and distance the aircraft spends outside the holding pattern.
Prior methods of entry into holding patterns and holding pattern entry algorithms are no longer acceptable under the new standards. The new method of holding pattern entry requires a more complex entry path. Thus, what is needed are improved holding pattern entry algorithms.